Alex Stalock

Alexander Stalock (born July 28, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Stalock was originally drafted 112th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks, and has also played for the Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks.

Playing career
Stalock was born in Saint Paul and played high school hockey for the South St. Paul, Minnesota Packers. He helped the Packers to an appearance in the state tournament in 2004, the team's first since 1996. Following that season, Stalock joined Cedar Rapids of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for two seasons. Stalock was named the 2005 USHL Playoff MVP as Cedar Rapids went on to win the Clark Cup. In 2006, he was named USHL Goaltender of the Year. He then attended University of Minnesota Duluth, where he played college hockey with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs for three years. In his first season with the Bulldogs, he was key to the team's appearance in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA)'s Final Five championship. Stalock was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 2007 and the NCAA West First All-American Team and the WCHA First All-Star Team in 2009.

Professional career
Stalock was drafted by the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the fourth round, 112th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first professional season with the Sharks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester Sharks in the 2009–10 season, appearing in 61 games. He set a new AHL record for wins by a rookie (39) He was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team and represented Worcester at the AHL All-Star Classic. On February 1, 2011, he made his NHL debut in relief of Antti Niemi. Playing 29 minutes and 47 seconds, Stalock allowed no goals on nine shots to record his first NHL win in a 5–3 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes. Shortly after his debut he was reassigned to Worcester. In a game against the Manchester Monarchs on February 4, he suffered a sliced nerve behind his knee after being stepped on by the skate of Manchester's Dwight King, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2010–11 season. Afterwards, he had surgery to repair the nerve and went through many months of rehabilitation. Stalock was sidelined until January 21, 2012, when he started in goal for San Jose's ECHL affiliate, the Stockton Thunder. After six games in Stockton, Stalock was called up to Worcester. He was re-assigned on loan to the Peoria Rivermen, the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues which had need of a goaltender after theirs had been traded to the Ottawa Senators. While with Peoria, he suffered a broken finger during practice.

On July 10, 2013, the Sharks re-signed Stalock to a one-year contract. In September 2013, Stalock was selected as the San Jose Sharks backup goaltender for the 2013–14 season. Stalock made his first NHL start on October 27, saving 38 shots in a 5–2 victory against the Ottawa Senators. On January 16, 2014, Stalock recorded his first shutout in a 3–0 win over the Florida Panthers. Against the Los Angeles Kings on January 27, Stalock passed Evgeni Nabokov for the Sharks' longest streak without allowing a goal with 178:55, 7:37 longer than Nabokov's highest. Stalock made his first career playoff start against the Los Angeles Kings on April 28, 2014.

In the 2015–16 season, on February 27, 2016, Stalock's tenure with the Sharks came to an end when he was traded, along with Ben Smith and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018 to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for James Reimer and Jeremy Morin. Stalock was placed on waivers the following day by the Maple Leafs and upon clearing was assigned to the AHL with affiliate, the Toronto Marlies on February 29, 2016.

Stalock left the Maple Leafs organization as an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and on July 1, 2016, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild. He spent the entire season with Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. On February 2, 2017, the Wild signed Stalock to a two-year, $1.3 million extension. The contract allowed the Wild to protect starter Devan Dubnyk and expose Stalock in the 2017 NHL expansion draft. Stalock was not selected by the Vegas Golden Knights and remained with the Wild. Stalock made his Wild debut on March 31, 2017 in a 5–1 win over the Ottawa Senators. The following season he was made Dubnyk's backup with the departure of Darcy Kuemper. He earned his first shutout with the Wild, and in three seasons, against his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, on December 14, 2017. On December 6, 2018, Stalock appeared in his 100th game, a 2–0 loss to the Calgary Flames. On January 29, 2019, the Wild signed Stalock, to a three-year, $2.355 million extension. Stalock started the 2019–20 season as Dubnyk's backup again, but after Dubnyk struggled, Stalock was promoted to the starting goaltender in January. The season was disrupted by the pandemic when the NHL paused it on March 12. He started every game for the Wild in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Qualifiers Round that took place in Edmonton, Alberta. He earned his first playoff win in the first game of the series versus the Vancouver Canucks. However, the Canucks won the next three games, eliminating the Wild.

Rehabilitating an injury leading into the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Stalock was placed on waivers by the Wild and later claimed by the Edmonton Oilers on March 1, 2021. He missed the entirety of the season through myocarditis, after complications from COVID-19. Returning to play in the season, Stalock was assigned to the Oilers' AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He recorded three wins in five appearances before he was traded by the Oilers for future considerations in a return to his original club, the San Jose Sharks, on March 2, 2022. He appeared in one game with the Sharks, spending the rest of the season with the Sharks' AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

On July 13, 2022, Stalock signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. Stalock ultimately played 27 games during the season, starting 24, with a 9–15–2 record and a .908 save percentage. He was named a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded to "the NHL player voted to best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey." With Chicago, Stalock became the first goalie since the 1934–35 NHL season to stop a penalty shot in three consecutive games.

On August 7, 2023, Stalock signed as a free agent to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Anaheim Ducks. Stalock was assigned to the Ducks AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls, to begin the 2023–24 season.